Woman hit, killed while crossing Phoenix street mid-block

PHOENIX -- A woman in her 30s was hit by a van and killed while running across a Phoenix Street early Monday morning.

It happened on Peoria Avenue near 39th Avenue at about 7 a.m., when the sun was just coming up.

According to Sgt. Trent Crump of the Phoenix Police Department, the woman was crossing the street mid-block, possibly to catch a bus.

The man who hit her stopped and is cooperating with investigators.

"He knew that he hit something and he turned around," Crump said. "[He] went back to render aid, which is what we would expect in this particular case."

Video from the scene showed significant damage to the front driver-side corner of the van.

Firefighters and a passer-by tried to save the woman, but she was pronounced dead on the scene.

"It doesn't look like speed is really going to be a big factor in this," Crump said.

Investigators also do not believe the driver was impaired at the time of the wreck.

It's not clear of the woman's clothing might have made her harder to see in the dim pre-dawn light, but Crump said it might not have mattered.

"I don't think if somebody stepped off the curb and ran in front of you, a light color or dark color is going to give you much time to react if you're traveling mid-block at a location like this," he said.

Neither the victim nor the driver has been identified.

According to Crump, the majority of fatal wrecks like this involve mid-block crossings.

"They are the single highest fatalities that we have," he said.

Peoria Avenue was closed between 39th and 43rd avenues while investigators were on the scene.